Bolsover Castle is in the town of

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

(), in the north-east of the English county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. Built in the early 17th century, the present castle lies on the earthworks and ruins of the 12th-century medieval castle; the first structure of the present castle was built between 1612 and 1617 by Sir Charles Cavendish. The site is now in the care of the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

charity, as both a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

Medieval

The original castle was built by the Peverel family in the 12th century and became Crown property in 1155 when

William Peverel the Younger William "the Younger" Peverel ( or – after 1155) was the son of William Peverel. He lived in Nottingham, England. He married Avicia de Lancaster (1088 – ) in La Marche, Normandy, France. She was possibly the daughter of William de Lancaste ...

died. The Ferrers family who were

Earls of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

laid claim to the Peveril property. When a group of barons led by King Henry II's sons –

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Mai ...

, Geoffrey Duke of Brittany, and Prince

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, later Richard the Lionheart – revolted against the king's rule, Henry spent £116 on building at the castles of Bolsover and Peveril in Derbyshire. The garrison was increased to a force led by 20

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s and was shared with the castles of Peveril and Nottingham during the revolt. King

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

ascended the throne in 1199 after his brother Richard's death. William de Ferrers maintained the claim of the Earls of Derby to the Peveril estates. He paid John 2000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

for the lordship of the Peak, but the Crown retained possession of Bolsover and Peveril Castles. John finally gave them to Ferrers in 1216 to secure his support in the face of country-wide rebellion. However, the castellan

Brian de Lisle Brian de Lisle (de L'Isle, de Insula) (died 1234) was an English soldier. By April 1200 Lisle was in the service of King John.ChurchLisle, Sir Brian de (''d''. 1234) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' In 1204 King John confiscated Gilbert d ...

refused to hand them over. Although Lisle and Ferrers were both John's supporters, John gave Ferrers permission to use force to take the castles. The situation was still chaotic when Henry III became king after his father's death in 1216. Bolsover fell to Ferrers' forces in 1217 after a siege. The castle was returned to crown control in 1223, at which point £33 was spent on repairing the damage the Earl of Derby had caused when capturing the castle six years earlier. Over the next 20 years, four towers were added, the keep was repaired, various parts of the curtain wall were repaired, and a kitchen and barn were built, all at a cost of £181. From 1290 onward, the castle and its surrounding manor were granted to a series of local farmers. Under their custodianship, the castle gradually fell into a state of disrepair.

Post-medieval

Bolsover castle was granted to

George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, 6th Earl of Waterford, 12th Baron Talbot, KG, Earl Marshal (c. 1522/1528 – 18 November 1590) was an English magnate and military commander. He also held the subsidiary titles of 15th Baron Strange of ...

, by

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in 1553. Following Shrewsbury's death in 1590, his son Gilbert, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, sold the ruins of Bolsover Castle to his step-brother and brother-in-law

Sir Charles Cavendish Sir Charles Cavendish (13 Aug 15914 Feb 1653) was an English aristocrat, Member of Parliament for Nottingham, and patron. Described as 'a little, weak, crooked man’ by John Aubrey, he studied mathematics himself, as well as supporting others ...

, who wanted to build a new castle on the site. Working with the famous builder and designer

Robert Smythson Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 155 ...

, Cavendish's castle was designed for elegant living rather than defence, and was unfinished at the time of the two men's deaths, in 1614 and 1617 respectively. Accounts survive for building the early stages of the "Little Castle." Unusually for this period female labour was recorded, and the women's names or husband's names are given. The building of the castle was continued by Cavendish's two sons,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and John, who were influenced by the Italian-inspired work of the architect

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...

. The tower, known today as the 'Little Castle', was completed around 1621. Construction was interrupted by the

Civil Wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

of 1642 to 1651, during which the castle was taken by the Parliamentarians, who

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

it, when it fell into a ruinous state. William Cavendish, who was created Marquess of Newcastle in 1643 and

Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

in 1665, added a new hall and staterooms to the Terrace Range, and by the time of his death in 1676 the castle had been restored to good order. The main usage of the building extended over twenty years, and it is presumed that the family lived at the castle towards the end of that period. It then passed through

Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (11 February 1715 – 17 July 1785) was a British aristocrat, styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her husband's death in 1761, and Dowager Duchess of Por ...

into the Bentinck family, and ultimately became one of the seats of the Earls and Dukes of Portland. After 1883, the castle was uninhabited, and in 1945 it was given to the nation by the 7th Duke of Portland. The Ministry of Works stabilized the buildings and began opening portions to visitations by the public. The castle is now in the care of

and operated as a tourist attraction. In October 2007 the television paranormal investigation show ''

Most Haunted Live! ''Most Haunted Live'' is a spin-off of the paranormal reality television series ''Most Haunted'' and was also produced by Antix Productions. The show consists of paranormal investigations broadcast live over a period of one or more nights, us ...

'' visited the castle as part of their Halloween events on Living TV, and in 2017 the site was voted the most haunted site by

staff. ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

'' was held at the castle in July 2015. Bolsover Castle is a

, a "nationally important" historic building and

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

which has been given protection against unauthorised change. It is also a Grade I

(first listed in 1985) and recognised as an internationally important structure.

Gallery

Bolsover Castle, long gallery exterior, 2008.jpg, The exterior of the long gallery Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire (geograph 291425).jpg, The Little Castle at Bolsover Bolsover Castle 17th century.jpg, Model of Bolsover Castle as it may have looked in the late 1600s

References

;Bibliography * * *

External links